Against The Odds
by wsm021
Summary: They are going to have to work through a lot in order to be together, and it doesn't help that he acts without thinking and she jumps to conclusions.
1. A Few false Assumptions

**AN: This has been sitting in my Fanfics folder for a while now, thought I would publish it and see the response. Also, as with all my stories Beth has been renamed to sophia =)**

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There's a moment right before she turns off the tv that she thinks to herself, god I hope I never become that broken. She wasn't a very big fan of Grey's Anatomy but it was on and she was bored but she's glad she watched it. Something about Christina Yang resonated with her, especially after her speech about being born different. There were simply girls, that were pretty and everyone liked, and you knew were pretty much going to breeze through life and then there was her. Rachel Aviva Berry was the opposite, don't get her wrong she had a very healthy self-image but she wasn't stupid. She spent years being teased and bullied, slushied and pranked, she wasn't the simple girl.

In the midst of her moment of self-reflection (self-pity really) the all too familiar sound of cracking eggs invaded the silence around her. Looking at the clock she's a little surprised, it was barely 11 o'clock; they usually waiting until after midnight. Sighing she made her way to the front door and turned on the porch lights. Waiting until the last car sped away she went and collected the bucket, rags and a special cleaner that cut the job in half.

She doesn't know what processed her to do it, maybe the exhaustion of cleaning for three hours or the humiliation of having her neighbours come out and help or maybe it's the fact that she's hurt he would allow this to happen after being friends for months, whatever the reason; she texts him while trying to be as calm and unattached as possible. Because sure they may be friends but he's still Puck.

_I think as friends it is completely understandable for you to offer me some kind of warning as to when you're friends plan to desecrate my home with chicken embryos. – RB_

He has to read it a few times before he actually understands it. The embryo part threw him off, who really thinks of eggs that way… well other than Berry. Then once he understands it he's amused, of course that's how she sees eggs, then he's mad that she would think he'd let any of his friends do that to her. Then when it all starts to fucking register he's furious because they probably were his friends (not his best friends but still) and they didn't tell him because they knew she was off limits but they did it anyway.

He sends a text to Mike cuz somehow that guy can get information on anything and drives over to her house trying to come up with a counterattack. She opens the door only to slam it in his face again, and he doesn't think he's ever seen her mad much less this mad. So he knocks again cuz she's his friend and he totally owes her for all the other shit he's done. When the door opens again he makes sure the first thing out of his mouth is "I honestly didn't know" and the look on her face when she just instantly believes him is enough to make his heart still. Then she in his arms crying harder than he's ever seen and asking him just ridiculous questions like what's wrong with _her. _

She thought he was there to apologize (didn't want to hear it) or offer some sort of explaination as to why he couldn't tell her (really didn't want to hear it) so she slammed the door. The force of it helped with the anger she was feeling but paled in comparison to his words. He had no idea and if he had he would have beat the shit (his words) out of every douchebag that even considered thinking about messing with her. There were perks to being best friends with Lima's resident badass and that was being untouchable, something she had been enjoying the last few months. Sure, people still gossiped and there were occasional notes in her locker but all the major stuff had stopped after they had become friends.

There was nothing wrong with her, he spent enough time with her to know. After Sophia has been born she was there, and she stayed there every day until she was sure he was alright. Then they just fell into a kind of pattern, became friends then best friends and sure she's crazy and driven and knows every word in the 2007 oxford's dictionary but that just made her Rachel, there was nothing wrong with her. So that's what he spent his Saturday night doing. Lying in bed with her explaining (in great detail) how perfect she was, crazy but perfect.

He feels bad for like a second (maybe less), because she was just crying and you don't kiss vulnerable chicks but she looked so sad and this was the only way he could think to make her not sad and right when he's about to apologizes she taking off her tank top and her bra and biting his earlobe and running her …oh god.

Somehow she's naked, it's not a complaint (definitely not) just merely an observation. Also she's going to have to ask her doctor if she's supposed to feel this full, because it's boarding on uncomfortable; like when you sleep in a bed that's too soft. She's so full and tingly and on fire and she loves it but there's something more that she can feel building but she not quite there and she's starting to get impatient and Noah's no help because the only thing he seems capable of doing is kissing her til she can't breathe and repeating her name like a mantra while filling her past capacity. Then she totally forgets about her doctor, or the fact that she's breathless and now she's not sure what he's saying because Rachel is this abstract thought, has she forgotten her own name?

He doesn't wait for her to recover, a. she's taking too long and b. the way she dug her nails in his back as she came turned him on so much he needs another go (like asap). So he flips them around and she kinda like a rag doll until he's in her again and then she's a fucking goddess riding him like she wants his head to explode the way she says his name… at least he thinks that's his name.

They fall asleep sometime after that and it's all good until his phone goes off. He rolls over as slowly as he can until she's on the bed instead of on top of him and reaches for his phone. The text from Mike literally makes him growl and the free hand that was holding her against him tightens and she whimpers. He's about to apologize when he realizes where exactly his hand was holding her and why she whimpered and his currently making good use of their position. Then he remembers the text and he's all stupid real quick.

"I gotta go take care of something, umm you stay here. Do not get dress because it'll be a waste though you might wanna take a shower. I'll be back before you know it. "

And he's gone. Not sticking around long enough to see the look of disappointment and hurt in her eyes because he's just leaving her there and she knows the thing he has to take care of is the cougar across the street he fucks every Sunday morning. When he sends her a text saying he'll be a couple more hours she ignores the tears rolling down her cheeks and hits the treadmill.


	2. Let The Games Begin

**AN: Sorry I haven't updated this sooner. I can offer two reasons 1. School (I think that speaks for itself) and 2. I had no idea where this story was going, like I said before the first chapter spent over a year just sitting on my computer. But I've got it figured out now so hopefully, school willing, I'll be able to update more often. The aim is a new chapter every two weeks... Also feedback would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy =)**

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It takes less than a five minutes for Noah to realize just how screwed he was, so very very screwed. He's had enough one night stands to know how they worked and he's slept with Santana long enough to know how friends with benefits worked too but Rachel attacked with some hybrid shit that left him so far behind it wasn't even funny. First, she ignores him all Sunday. Sure he'd bailed on her but it was for good reason… not that he had explained that to her but wasn't it a given? They were naked in bed together obviously he left for a good reason. So he goes to school on Monday with the impression that it was a one-off, never to be spoken of again. And yeah it hurt (like really hurt) but it's not as if he'd never been in that position before. So imagine his surprise when he finds her at her locker in _his_ football jersey. It's tied in the back; high enough to leave a sliver of skin between the jersey and her skin tight leggings, the come-fuck-me knee high boots are just the final nail in his coffin.

Noah's stuck somewhere between confusion and arousal, so when all she does is smile and walk past him (in the direction he assumes her class is) it takes all of his mental faculties to stay convinced that she wasn't just the product of an overactive imagination. This was the US of A, where sports were scared and your jersey might as well be dogtags. It marked you as a person and in high school it marked your position on the social hierarchy like a red-blooded American seal of approval. For a girl to wear your jersey, well… let's just say it would be more conspicuous to brand her ass. Just by getting dressed Rachel had announced to the entire school that she belonged to him… and in turn that he belonged to her. And though he didn't really mind the sentiment given that all the asshole ogling her would now knew to keep their hands off, it was a little disconcerting that he hadn't been a part of the decision whatsoever. That she had staked her claim while simultaneously ignoring him which basically put him in the same "look but don't touch" club as every other McKinley student of the female loving persuasion. So say that she was seriously fucking with his head was an understatement; quite clearly demonstrated by the fact that he hadn't grabbed her when she'd been two feet away from him. Goddamit! That was his name sprayed across her back (above her ass with her high pony-tail dashing back and forth in time with the swaying of her hips just begging to be pulled on) he deserved to be able to touch.

She had no idea what she was doing, none what's so ever. All she knew was that he had made love to her, fucked her, worshipped her and then left her high and dry. She was so hopeful, so confused, so hurt that she was starting to feel bipolar. By Sunday afternoon she was ready to cut off all ties, ready to put an end to anything that could develop between them. That was until she saw his gym bag sitting on the floor by the front door. She knows what's inside; it's the bag he uses when the team has away games… the bag he takes to parties when he plans on getting too drunk to drive home. The bag he obviously brought with him after leaving whatever party he'd been at when she'd texted him, a party he'd left because she'd texted him (needed him). Somewhere between rage and devastation, she found strength or at least vindication. So what if he fucked other people, his go bag was at her house. He slept in her bed, he called and texted and checked in with _her_. She may not be the only one but she was the most important. On Monday that was enough for her.

She doesn't think about it, and that sounds like a lie but it wasn't. Monday she woke up, worked out and did her vocal exercises like every other morning. She took a shower and went through her skin care routine with practiced precision. She checked the weather while enjoying a bowl of yogurt and granola, and chatted a bit with her dads before they left for the day. There were boots in the back of her closet, an impulsive buy that Kurt had pressured her into. She'd gotten the flat pair instead of the heels in hopes that it would tone down the level of sexiness they emit but apparently the term come-fuck-me was not exclusive to things of the stiletto variety (oh well). Walking down the stairs she's barely aware of the fact that she isn't wearing a top but by the time she would have realized she's retrieved Noah's jersey and is tying it expertly to fit her frame while still showing off his name and number. Its isn't until half way down the hall that she realized the implications of what she's done. If all the girls glaring at her weren't enough of an indication, the fact that Jacob Ben Israel would barely look at her was a definite tip off. But when she feels _his _eyes on her she really can't bring herself to care, so she turns towards him fully just long enough for him to get the full picture before walking away. Because sure, she may have just announced to the entire school that she belongs to Noah Puckerman but she also made it very clear that he belonged to her and she would be well within her rights to deal with anyone who thought otherwise. Besides she knows for a fact that he's still watching her as she turns the corner and he doesn't look at anyone the way he looks at her.


End file.
